Heavy rains caused a mudslide that buried much of a small mountainside settlement in central Bolivia, killing at least four people, local officials said.

Nine more people were listed as missing. Jimena Alegre, an official for the Morochota municipality, said that the slide occurred Saturday night in the Quechua community of Chuypakasa and buried the homes of 15 families.

Rescue squads were digging through the site in hopes of finding more survivors.

The first responders were from Cochabamba, which is about 220 kilometres east of the capital of La Paz.

Heavy rains have been falling across most of Bolivia since November and civil defense officials say 46,850 families have been affected.

The government news agency ABI said 40 people have been killed, including 10 who died two weeks ago in a mudslide in the Amazon town of Rurrenabaque.